So while it's not good that my cell phone got lost in the crash (and with it most of my pictures of the cats and all my pictures of Bruce the Very Large Dog, boo hiss), it did mean I had to get a new phone, and the new phone is capable of playing nice with a little thing called Paypal Here. Which means I now have a magic card swiper. In other words, if you should happen to stroll up to the Anne B. Walsh table at a convention, and you wish to buy a book but you have no cash, I can now accommodate you! Simply slide your card through the small, triangular item plugged into the bottom of my phone, sign my screen, and, as they don't say, viola! Your book is paid for. Not that I'm going to any conventions in the near future... but I digress. There could always be surprises, and it's not like I've been out there hunting opportunities. Maybe I should be more proactive -- no, scratch that, I probably should be more proactive. But I have a certain number of hang-ups, which long-time readers will know very well. Besides, according to the received wisdom from the one convention I did attend last year, conventions actually aren't that great for authors who aren't already Big Names. They're fun, yes, but they're expensive, and usually a net loss, mostly because authors are likely to also be fans and be tempted by the Awesome Stuff the vendors offer. What does work, again according to Those Who Know, is doing guest posts for blogs. But here, again, we hit well-established Anne Author Problems. That is, I have a very hard time "pushing" anything related to myself, and I feel like asking a blogger if I could do a guest post would be the worst, rudest, and most intrusive kind of pushing. To add to that problem, I don't read any blogs right now, be they fiction-related or no. I have so much else going on in my life that I can't imagine when I'd be able to even read posts, to say nothing of any new books. Besides, my tastes are offbeat enough that I'm often a bit underwhelmed by fiction other people have recommended. So, O readers, I do what I always do -- turn to you, and ask humbly for your help. Do any of you read fantasy/sci-fi blogs? Are there any out there with a special focus on fairy tale retellings, family-friendly stories, or women in speculative fiction? And, the sixty-four thousand dollar question -- do any of them ever feature guest bloggers? More on Thursday, by which point I may also have more information on the Fun News (TM) I've been hinting at for the past few days. I may also have updated a story someplace. But which story, and where? What new secrets will it reveal? You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? Mwahaha. Thanks for reading, as ever! |